The Early Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog
by shinyumbreon2
Summary: The evil Dr. Engman had decided to take over the world, and he's using animals to power up his robots...not if Sonic the Hedgehog has anything to say about it! With his Flicky friend Felix and his little sister Lisa, Sonic runs through the multiple zones to save his friends and the world. And maybe along the way he'll meet some new lifelong friends and rivals along the way.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

South Island. It's a secluded place where you'll find creature you wouldn't find anywhere else. One was named Sonic the Hedgehog. He wasn't like any normal hedgehog. Most can fit into your hand. He was three feet and three inches. Most are brown. He is blue. Most can't talk. Sonic loved to, most of the time sarcastic and cocky. But there was something Sonic had over everything else, even machines: speed.

Sonic the Hedgehog could run faster than the speed of sound.

It's true, and along with his strong sense of justice, the blue hedgehog was a very popular guy on the island. He wasn't full of himself, though, like other popular people would be. Yes, he was cocky and yes, he could have a slight ego, but he was also very friendly. Yet there was one person he liked being around more than anyone on the island: his little sister, Lisa.

She was a green hedgehog who could run almost as fast as Sonic. But despite being one year younger than him, she was much shorter (being 2' 5") and was much more childish. That didn't stop her from having a sense of adventure like her older brother. Her white t-shirt was stained with grass stains and dirt. Her green jean shorts were torn up. Her red sneakers had treaded over rocks and hills and through forests, as had Sonic's. And neither of them would have it any other way.

Today was no different.

"Wow," Lisa marveled. "It's so pretty!"

"It's just the ocean," Sonic replied, chuckling. "We've been to it plenty of times."

"I know, but it's always so sparkly and shiny! I like looking at it no matter how many times we come here!"

"So long as we don't go for a swim," Sonic remarked with a smug look.

The green hedgehog laughed. "Says you!"

Sonic breathed in the salty air. "You're right, Lisa. It's always nice to come here."

Lisa shuffled her feet in the sand. "I just wish our friends were here to enjoy this, too," she said quietly.

Her brother looked at her. It was true that some of their animal friends had disappeared over the past few days. Sonic was just as worried about the issue as Lisa, but he wouldn't even know where to be looking, not to mention that he didn't want Lisa to worry any more than she already was. "Don't worry about it, Lisa," he reassured. "I bet they're just exploring some other island or something."

"Maybe," she replied.

Sonic put his hand on her head. "So what do you say we head back, kiddo?"

"Let's race!" she exclaimed, dropping her worried look.

"That's my little sister! So, what are the rules?"

"We take two different paths." Lisa put on an annoyed face. "That way you can't cheat like last time!" Sonic snickered. "Whoever wins, we take their path for the next month. The loser has to prepare an extra-deluxe chili dog and watch the winner eat ALL of it!"

Chilidogs. Sonic's favorite food. His eyes lit up. "Oo, then I'm not losing!" he declared. "I'll take the forest path."

"Awwwww…Fine, I'll take the path along the cliff."

"Ready to lose?"

"No, I'm set to win!"

The two had a silent countdown. It was as if they could read each other's thoughts. "GO!" They took off. Sonic flew down his path at incredible speeds. From the beach to their house, it took him a little less than three minutes. He skidded to a halt in front of the door. He knew Lisa hadn't beaten him home. He had won. "Alright!" he cheered. "That's one extra-deluxe chili dog just for me!" He could already smell the onions and the spices, and his mouth started to water. "Come on, Lisa, I'm waiting!" And he waited. And he waited. And he waited.

Ten minutes passed by, and there was still no sign of Lisa. Even though she was a bit slower, even if the cliff path was the longest route possible (which it wasn't), Sonic knew she shouldn't be taking this long. _Maybe she got distracted, _he reassured himself. Then he shook his head. _With a chilidog and bragging rights on the line? Not a chance. _He gasped in realization. _The animals have been disappearing, and then Lisa…no, please no. _He ran off to the edge of the forest, only to be stopped by something in his way. "Sonic!"

"Oh, Felix!" Sonic replied. Felix was a Flicky, a type of bird that lived on the island. This particular Flicky had been friends with Sonic since he could remember. Felix also seemed to know where Lisa was whenever she ran off. "Have you seen Lisa?"

"No," Felix replied, shaking his head. "Did she run off?"

"I'm not sure. We were having a race and she never came back home."

"Maybe she's inside the house?"

Sonic shook his head. "Doubt it. She would have waited outside to brag about it."

Felix flew around in a circle. "This could be bad. You've heard about how some of the animals have been disappearing, right?"

"Please don't scare me, Felix!"

"Uh, sorry. I just…I'm worried."

"You wouldn't happen to know where everyone else is, would you?"

"No," the Flicky repeated. "But lately I've been hearing about an old man hanging around the island."

"Old man…" Sonic blinked. "Wait, you don't mean-"

"Yeah, a human."

It wasn't that Sonic didn't trust humans. In fact it was just the opposite. From what the Flickies had said when they visited the mainland, sure they were weird but ultimately nice and trustworthy. But no human had stepped foot South Island ever. No one even knew South Island even existed. This old man was suspicious. "Felix, I'm gonna run around and look for clues. I want to ask you to do the same, please. Tell me if you find anything."

"Right!" Felix exclaimed with determination. He flew off into the sky, and Sonic turned around to go along the cliff path Lisa had taken. He scanned the area called Green Hill, hoping to find his sister somewhere along it.

"Come on, Lisa, please stop joking around," Sonic told himself. "This is a joke, right? And it isn't funny. Come on, Lisa…" He hoped the worst that had happened to her was that she had sprained her ankle and therefore couldn't run. He hoped she had tripped over an undiscovered fossil (which she had gotten into recently) and had gotten lost in trying to dig it up. He kept running and running and then skidded to a halt. Right in front of him was a gray hovercraft shape like half an egg. Inside it was a bald man who wore a red jacket and was very fat. _Is this the man Felix was talking about? _"Hey, excuse me!" Sonic called out.

The hovercraft turned around. The man had a brown mustache, a big pink nose, and wearing blue glasses. "How interesting," the man mumbled. "It can talk."

"Of course I can talk!" Sonic replied. "Look, that's not important. Have you seen a green hedgehog?"

"I've never heard of a green hedgehog," the man stated.

Sonic sighed, starting to become impatient. "Her fur and spikes are green, she's about 2' 5", wearing a white t-shirt and green shorts. She's kind of hard to miss."

The man began thinking. "You know, I've been meaning to try out a new invention of mine." He pressed a button, and a ball-and-chain dropped down from the hovercraft and began to swing back and forth. The man smiled in a way Sonic didn't like. "I believe I have seen someone like that, but I'll only tell you if you can beat my Egg Mobile-H," he proclaimed.

Sonic blinked. "Egg…Mobile?" he repeated. He started to chuckle, and then started to laugh. "What kind of a name is that?"

"What's so funny about it?" the man asked, slightly annoyed.

"Is that a serious question?" Sonic replied, still laughing.

"They are my inventions and I name them whatever I want!" the man shouted.

"Okay, okay, calm down, man," Sonic stated. He cleared his throat. "Alright then, if you want a fight, I'll take you on. I like a challenge." The blue hedgehog ran at the hovercraft and jumped at it. He kicked it twice and jumped back to run at it again, but this time the ball-and-chain swung at him. He jumped onto the ball and held onto the chain as he began to swing on it. Finally the ball hit the front of the hovercraft and the chain snapped. The invention fell to the ground, and Sonic jumped right next to it. "Heh, that was too easy," Sonic chuckled. "Now will you answer my question?"

The man sank back into his chair. "Hmm, you're quite strong," he stated. "First off, let me introduce myself. My name is Dr. Eggman."

"Should have guessed," Sonic said with a sly smile. "The name's Sonic."

"Good to know," Eggman replied. "Now I know the one who is getting in my way."

Sonic was confused. "What are you talking about?"

Eggman chuckled evilly. Sonic had a feeling he knew where this was going, and he didn't like it. The man reached behind his chair and dragged someone next to him. "Is this who you were looking for?" he asked with an evil grin on his face. Lisa looked so scared, standing there with a metal band holding her arms to her sides.

"No…" Sonic clenched his fist. "All of the disappearances have been because of you, haven't they?!" he exclaimed.

Eggman laughed. "If you want to save all of them, you better find all of them! Though, I highly doubt you can!" He laughed some more, to the point where he began coughing. After he cleared his throat he started the hovercraft.

"Sonic!" Lisa shouted.

"I'm coming!" Sonic proclaimed. He ran at the hovercraft, but it flew up too high, and Sonic watched hopelessly as it flew away. "LISA!" He cried out in frustration and stomped the ground. "Fine then, Eggman. If you want a fight, oh are you gonna get one!" He was about to run off when he heard some muffled cries. He turned his head to see a capsule. Through the small window he noticed some of his animal friends were inside. "Hang on, guys!" he shouted. He ran up and jumped on top of it. The button he jumped on opened up the capsule, and the animals ran out. Sonic jumped onto the ground and knelt down. "Is everyone all right?"

"Sonic, it's terrible!" a rabbit by the name of Lightfoot exclaimed. "That man is using our friends to power up these weird robots!"

"Say what?!" Sonic cried in horror.

"You gotta do something, Sonic!" a penguin named Tux begged. "Please help them!"

"Help them, Sonic!" all of the animals repeated.

Sonic smiled and stood up. "There wasn't a need to tell me that!" he told them. "I was already going to give Eggman a personal beat down!"

The animals cheered and Sonic ran off. _Just hang in there a little longer, Lisa and everyone else, _he thought. _I'll save you. I promise._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Are you sure he went this way?" Sonic asked.

"Silver hovercraft with a fat, bald man inside? 100 percent positive," Felix replied.

"And Lisa?"

"From what I've heard, she was taken to a place everyone is calling Scrap Brain. There were loud noises for days on end and then all of these metal buildings were suddenly there."

Sonic flicked his head to the side, looking at the zone in front of him called Marble. "Isn't that what humans call construction?" he asked.

"I think so," Felix stated. The blue Flicky flew in front of Sonic. "Is it okay if I go with you?"

"You fine with me going fast?"

Felix smiled and flapped his wings faster. "I've been on your shoulder when you've gone fast before."

Sonic smiled as well and motioned Felix to land on his shoulder. His Flicky friend did, and the blue hedgehog sped off. His progress was halted, though, when he tripped over a robot that looked like a ladybug. "Mmph mm rmph!" Sonic shouted.

"Uh, Sonic?" Felix asked. "It's kind of hard to hear you when your face is in the ground."

Sonic pulled himself out. "Phaah!" He breathed in and out. "I said, 'What the heck!' Seriously, what did I just trip over?" He turned around to see the robot flash its claws and then come towards him. Slowly. Sonic frowned in annoyance. "I tripped over that? Really?"

"You were going pretty fast," Felix stated. "You could trip over a rock if you're not careful."

"I'll remember that," Sonic replied as he jumped onto the ladybug robot. It broken apart, and from the wreckage, another one of Sonic's animal friends popped up. "Pocky?" Sonic asked the rabbit. "What were you doing in the robot?" He thought for a bit. "Oh, so that's what everyone meant."

"Y-y-y-yeah!" Pocky stammered. He was always a nervous and clumsy fellow. "Th-th-th-that weird guy r-r-r-r-rounds us up a-a-a-and then th-th-the robots start moving!"

"Well, it's good to see you're safe," Felix stated. "By the way, Pocky, you wouldn't happen to know anything about Lisa, would you?"

Pocky began to jump up and down really fast. If he wasn't already frightened, he sure was now. "L-L-L-Lisa has been captured, t-t-t-t-too!" He hopped to the right, and then hopped back in front of Sonic. "N-n-n-no, I'm sorry, I-I-I-I don't know anything."

"Then we just keep moving," Sonic resolved. "Come on, Felix. Pocky, go find somewhere safe."

"Y-y-y-you don't have t-t-t-to tell me twice!" Pocky exclaimed and hopped off. Felix got back on Sonic's shoulder, and the blue hedgehog took off again.

The two made their way through the zone, though not as fast as Sonic would have liked. There was quite a bit of waiting around, and there were so many robots to destroy as well. Each robot had an animal inside of it, though some were strangers to Sonic and even Felix. There was one squirrel named Sally who treated herself like a princess. When Sonic told her to find some place safe, she huffed. "You don't tell me what to do!" she exclaimed. "And shouldn't you be leading me out of this complex? That's what a real knight would do!"

Sonic looked at her with a face that read, "She's going to be a handful". "I'm sorry, I have places to be, others to rescue," he told her. "And, most importantly, I'm not a knight." _Though, maybe one day it would be cool to swing a sword like one. But just maybe._

The squirrel huffed again. "Then I'm going with you until you get out of here," she stated.

"Why should-"

"Sonic," Felix interrupted. "Just do it. It'll make everything go by faster."

Sonic sighed. "Fine," he said reluctantly. Sally jumped onto the shoulder Felix wasn't occupying, and Sonic continued on.

"How much longer?" Sally asked.

_Ignore it, _Sonic thought to himself. He felt the air getting warmer. _Geez, is she that annoyed I'm not answering her? _But the air kept getting warmer and warmer. And then… "Hot, hot, hot!" Sonic yelped. He jumped up onto a ledge and looked down. "L-lava?!"

"And it's rising!" Felix exclaimed.

"Then it's time to speed things up a bit!" Sonic replied. He began to run faster through the underground complex.

"Slow down!" Sally cried out.

"Sure, if you want to be barbequed," Sonic told her.

Sally held on tighter. "Never mind, then!"

Sonic ran, still destroying robots, until finally he saw sunlight up ahead. "Finally, the exit!" he shouted. With a big burst of speed he exited the complex and flopped onto the grass. "Ah, it's nice and cool out here! And the air is so nice!"

"You said it!" Felix chirped.

Meanwhile, Sally wasn't looking too good. "Too fast…too fast…"

Sonic chuckled silently and then picked her up. "Well, we're outside now, so there's nothing to worry about," he stated. He smiled. Sally looked at him, took a few breaths, and then jumped onto the ground. She mumbled something, but Sonic knew what she said. Still, he decided to mess with her. "What's that? I can't hear you. Can you speak up?"

Sally made a grumpy face. "Th-thank you for helping me," she repeated.

"That's what I do!" Sonic replied, grinning from ear to ear. "Now, go on and find some place-"

"Sonic, behind you!" Felix shouted.

Sonic looked behind him. Time seemed to slow down as he saw a large stream of fire come straight towards him. Reacting quickly, he grabbed Sally and jumped out of the way, just barely missing the fire. He looked at where the fire had come from. "Eggman!" he exclaimed. "Felix, Sally, go find some place safe!" The animals did as they were told.

"They aren't going anywhere!" Eggman shouted, ready to shoot out more fire. But right as he did, Sonic kicked the Egg Mobile, sending the fire off course.

"So, egg head, you ready for round two?" Sonic asked with a smirk. "I hope this time you bring more of a challenge!"

"This won't be like last time!" Eggman declared. He pushed the button to fire the flamethrower again.

"You're right about that!" Sonic commented as dodged each fire blast with ease. "You almost hit me this time. But in the end…" He kicked the Egg Mobile a few more times, and the machine exploded. "You still lose!"

The smoke cleared. Eggman and his machine were charred but still intact. The doctor coughed. "This isn't over, Sonic!" he cried as he flew away.

"Eggman, get back here!" Sonic demanded.

"Hold on, Sonic!" Felix exclaimed. "What about everyone in the capsule?"

Sonic turned to the direction of his Flicky friend. Felix was flying around the capsule, and as Sonic watched Eggman get away, he figured he could always catch him again. So he ran over to the capsule and jump onto the button. It opened up, and all of the animals inside it cheered and ran for freedom. "There's another one down," Sonic stated.

"And another bunch of animals freed," Felix added. He flew onto Sonic's shoulder and hung his head. "Sorry. Maybe you should have caught Eggman first."

"Don't worry about it, buddy," Sonic replied. "We'll get him next time."

"Um…" Sonic looked down. It was Sally. "Sonic…you were…really cool!" Her eyes lit up.

Sonic smiled. "Why, thank you," he said as he bowed. "I aim to please."

"Now go on and stomp that creep!" Sally cheered. "Let him know not to mess with us again!"

"No problem!" Sonic stated and ran off.

"I didn't think you liked having a fan base," Felix commented.

The blue hedgehog chuckled. "Just as long as they aren't obsessive," he replied.

The two friends soon found themselves in Spring Yard, an urban-looking place that Sonic had never been to before. He was surprised a human-looking area existed on South Island. _Maybe humans have been to South Island before, _Sonic thought. _Or did Eggman build this place, too? _Before he could think about it anymore, he found himself launched up by a spring. "Sonic, you've turned into a living pinball!" Felix laughed as Sonic bounced from spring to spring.

"What's. A. Pin. Ball?" Sonic asked, his question choppy because of the springs. "Whatever it is—oof!" He fell onto the ground after hitting a stopper. "I feel sorry for it," he mumbled.

_SPRING, SPRANG, SPRONG. _That's all Sonic could think abut as he bounced on robots and springs. Though as he travelled on, he learned how to use the springs to his advantage. And there were stretches of hallway without springs as well, so he could still run and have actual control of himself. Finally he came to a bridge over a seemingly bottomless pit. On the other side was another capsule with more animals inside. Sonic began to run over, but has to skid to a halt before the Egg Mobile hit him on the head. "Hold still!" Eggman yelled.

"Man, he doesn't give up, does he?" Sonic snickered.

"It's feels like only a few minutes since he last attacked you," Felix added.

"I'll make this quick," Sonic stated. Felix flew off of his shoulder. Once again, Eggman attacked him. But Sonic dodged just like before. He kicked the Egg Mobile a few times before it exploded again. The master and machine, charred once more, flew off. This time Sonic jumped on the capsule button quickly and then followed after the doctor until he lost him inside a cave. A cave Sonic never wanted to visit. "Labyrinth," he moaned. "Water, water everywhere. Ugh, just think about it makes me feel sick." He hesitantly walked up to the water's edge and looked down. "Well, here I go anyway." He took a deep, deep breath and jumped in. Sonic was scared out of his mind. He couldn't swim, so he sank right to the bottom and had to walk since there was no way he was running in this. Then he noticed there were robots. _Because that's what I need, _he thought. He decided to avoid them, but the robots came after him. Fed up, he destroyed them, but in the process opened his mouth. Panicking, he grabbed a vine and scrambled up out of the water and onto the floor, coughing up water. Then he flopped onto his back.

_Air, _he thought as he breathed in and out. _Sweet, sweet air. _He gave off a half-hearted grin, stood up, and immediately slipped. Right onto a natural water slide. "This isn't funny!" Sonic shouted. He was plunged back into the water again. _Eggman…_ Sonic grumbled in his head. He grabbed onto ledges to go on further, dodged spears trying to skewer him, jumped out of the water every once in a while to get air, destroyed robots, and, finally got onto dry stone. "At least, I hope it's dry," he said aloud. He walked over the next area of water, took another deep, deep breath, and jumped on in. This time, he got swept into a water current tunnel. He struggled. Going fast on land didn't freak him out. Going fast underwater made him lose his mind. The tunnel shot him out onto dry land and onto a stone. Sonic coughed.

"And Lisa makes fun of me for being scared of water," he mumbled. Then he noticed the water was rising. At first, he was really scared, but then he noticed the stone he was on was actually floating. Sonic smiled. "Finally, the water works in my favor!" he cheered. He stood up and noticed a set of stairs. Wanting to keep ahead of the water, he jumped off the stone and began climbing the stairs, destroying the robots along the way. As he continued to climb he noticed Eggman ahead of him. Sonic climbed even faster, but the spears and robots in his way made him lose sight of Eggman again. When Sonic finally reached the top he was only met with another capsule. Sonic, taking what he could get, jumped on the button and freed the animals. He then ran outside the cave, where he met a frantic Felix.

"Sonic! I saw that you went into Labyrinth! Are you okay?! You're not hurt, right?! Was it scary, was it-" Sonic stopped him.

"Take it easy, my friend," Sonic replied. "I'm perfectly fine. Now."

Felix sighed in relief and landed on Sonic's shoulder. "Eggman went that way," he reported, pointing his wing straight ahead of them. "He's going towards Starlight."

Sonic grinned. "Well then, what are we waiting for?" He stretched his arms and cracked his knuckles. "Let's go!" The blue hedgehog zoomed through the rollercoaster-like zone (not that Sonic knew what a rollercoaster was). Since the last two zones had made him stop-and-go, he was glad that finally he could just blast on through, although the bombs that littered the place kept him on his toes. As he ran, though, he started wondering again if humans really had been here before Eggman. It was the second non-ancient place Sonic had seen on the island, and he knew none of his friends could build a place like this. "So…why do they call this Starlight?" Sonic asked as he ran through another loop.

"Well, from a distance at night, this place looks like stars," Felix explained. "I don't know when it got here, though. I don't think anyone does."

Sonic destroyed another robot and freed another animal. "Wouldn't it be cool to go see the world?" he proposed.

Felix turned his head towards Sonic's. "I'm surprised you and Lisa haven't done that earlier. Didn't you two find that plane not too long ago?"

"That one that washed up on the beach on that piece of metal?" Sonic replied. "Yeah, we did. I'm not sure how well I can fly it, though."

"Something to try later?"

"I guess." Sonic saw Eggman off in the distance, and ran straight for him. But as he caught up with him, the doctor began to drop bombs. Sonic did a duck-and-cover, but quickly realized the bombs hadn't blown up yet and noticed they had landed on seesaws. The hero quickly came up with an idea and jumped onto the other end of the seesaws to launch the bombs back at Eggman. The explosives hit the Egg Mobile, and once again the machine became charred. "Looks like your plan blew up in your face, Eggman!" Sonic taunted as his enemy coughed.

Eggman grumbled, but Sonic couldn't tell if he was doing it because he lost or from the hedgehog's terrible pun. He flew off again, and Sonic ran after him. "Sonic!" Felix called as he landed on Sonic's shoulder. "I think it's just over this hill!"

Sonic looked at him, confused, as he continued to run. "'It'? What's 'it'?"

Felix pointed forward with his wing. "That." Sonic turned his head and gasped in disgust and horror. He stopped in his tracks as his Flicky friend said the name:

"Scrap Brain."


	3. Chapter 3

They weren't close to Scrap Brain, but Sonic still felt like it was suffocating him. The clouds around the building were pure black, which the blue hedgehog had never seen before. He started to shake, wondering if the clouds would swallow him whole and he would be lost in the darkness. They weren't that close, but Sonic still smelled the pollution, and it made him choke and cough. It seemed awful out here; he could only imagine how much worse it was up close. "She…she's in there?" Sonic asked, trying to regain his breath.

"Yeah," Felix replied. "Are…you okay?"

"You can't smell it?" Sonic commented. "You can't FEEL it? It's…so cramped. It's suffocating. Why…" The blue hedgehog was starting to become very angry. "Why is this hideous place on our island? It doesn't belong here!" he spat.

Felix had never seen Sonic so angry before. The fact that this base was here destroying the area was one thing, but Lisa and the rest of their friends were in there as well. "So, what are you going to do?" Felix asked.

"Going to do?" Sonic repeated, chuckling in a slightly creepy way. He punched one hand into the open palm of the other. "Bring it to the ground, what else? Eggman's going to pay for what he's done!"

"S-Sonic," Felix stammered. The blue hedgehog looked up at his flying friend. "You-you're kind of scaring me."

Sonic blinked, and then smiled. "Sorry, buddy, I didn't mean to," he replied. "I guess I did get a little carried away. Okay then…" The hedgehog got into a sprinting position. "I'm going in. You coming with me?"

"Is it okay if I sit this one out?" the blue Flicky asked.

"That's a good idea, actually," Sonic stated. "Lead any animals who come out of that place somewhere safe."

Felix nodded. "Got it." And with that, Sonic smiled and took off, leaving nothing but a split second imagine of a blue blur.

Sonic hadn't even gotten inside the base, and it was already treacherous. Flamethrowers that tried to burn him to a crisp. Electricity that was aimed to make his heart stop from the shock. Trap doors that would lead him to who-knows-where. Not to mention bombs exploding in his face. When he found the source of the bombs, he was surprised to see…pig robots? "This guy is the definition of weird," Sonic sighed as he easily destroyed the robots. The animals that had been trapped all shook their heads, trying to clear their minds, and followed Sonic's instructions to leave the area as soon as possible. The hedgehog watched as another ran off, and he turned to find a gaping entrance. Sonic chuckled nervously. _I'm just glad the thing doesn't have teeth, _he thought. He looked up at the black sky. As he was running the pollution smell hadn't bothered him, but now that he had stopped and he was focusing on it, he felt himself gag. _Okay, that's enough standing around. _He quickly ran inside the base.

The air was better to breath inside the base, not that Sonic was paying much attention to that anymore. He was more focused on dodging all of the death traps in his way. Saw blades tried to cut him in half, flamethrowers and electricity still tried their best to destroy him, and there were cogs and spinning platforms trying to make him lose his balance. But he wasn't about to let any of that stop him. Not now. Not when he was so close. _Hang in there, Sis, _he kept thinking. _Your big brother's almost there. _He kept on moving and found himself in a long corridor, with Eggman at the end. The scientist was giving Sonic an evil grin. Sonic, angrier than ever, sped right up to Eggman, only to hit reinforced glass. Eggman laughed. "Too bad, Sonic, but you're not catching me that easily!" he proclaimed.

Sonic shook off the impact. "Give me back my sister and my friends!" he demanded.

Eggman chuckled slowly and held up a button. "Only if you can survive," were his last words before he pushed the button. Sonic watch as the floor crumbled beneath him, and he fell along with the debris.

Sonic landed on a platform which suddenly jolted forward. "Wh-what's going on?" he asked. Deciding that whatever he was on was too slow, he ran forward, and felt himself land on a slope. He ran down and landed ankle deep in… "Water…" He sighed. "Not again!" He was silent, with the only sound right now the gentle yet disturbing sound of the lapping water. "Well, better get this over with." He noticed a button and decided to push it. The floor under him opened up, and he quickly took a deep breath as he plunged into the water.

The blue hedgehog walked along the floor of the water, dodging spikes and robots that tried to take him out. He then noticed a spot of air, so he jumped up, grabbed the ledge, and pulled himself out. Sonic took deep breaths and jumped from one platform to another, then he took another deep breath and jumped back in. Quickly he found some stairs and began climbing them. _Wow, this is the quickest time between air pockets ever, _Sonic thought. As he got out of the water and continued upward he heard something behind him. He turned his head and scrambled up as a flamethrower tried to scorch him. _What is it with this guy and flamethrowers?! _Sonic screamed. After he climbed up the stairs and dodged four or five flamethrowers, he finally made it to the top. In front of him stood a spring. He smirked. He jogged towards it. "Bouncy, bouncy!" he exclaimed and jumped on the spring, sending him back to the upper floor.

"Okay, Eggman," he growled as he landed. "Time to make you pay." He zoomed forward into an empty room. The door suddenly shut, leaving him in complete darkness, then the lights came on. Sonic then heard Eggman's evil laugh coming from…wait, where was it coming from? It sound like it was coming from everywhere.

"Welcome, Sonic!" Eggman boomed.

Sonic's head swiveled around quickly, but couldn't find the doctor anywhere. "Where are you?!" the hedgehog shouted. "Come out and face me!"

Eggman laughed again. "Such a simple hedgehog!" he insulted. "You don't even know what a PA is. Not that it matters. What matters…" Sonic heard something coming from above. Something was coming down towards him, and he quickly jumped out of the way as the piston hit the ground. Sonic noticed another one had hit the ground behind him as well. And inside was Eggman, chuckling. "Is that this time, I WILL crush you!" The piston retreated into the ceiling, and electricity shout at him.

"Heh," Sonic said with a smirk, dodging the lightning. "Haven't you heard, Eggman? I'm the fastest thing alive!"

Sonic had to admit, this battle was harder than the pervious battles. At first, he had no idea how he was going to destroy the machine. But one time when the pistons came down he accidently kicked the piston Eggman was in, and Sonic noticed a dent. The next time the pistons came down, he kicked one, but Eggman wasn't in that one. The hedgehog grunted. _He keeps switching from one thing to another, and I'm not gonna get anywhere hitting the one he isn't in. _He watched the pistons retreat and the electricity shot out again. _Okay, let's do this! _So now every time the pistons came down, he kicked the one Eggman was in. He even counted how many hits it took. He wanted to savor beating the doctor. He had hit him once. "Eggman, it's time for you to pay!" Sonic shouted. _Two! _Dodge. "This is for kidnapping my friends!" _Three! Four! _Dodge. "This is for polluting my home!" _Five! Six! _Dodge. "This is for making this a pain in the neck!" _Seven! _

Eggman grumbled. "Sonic, you won't win!" he announced over the PA. The pistons came back down.

"And this is for kidnapping my SISTER!" Sonic roared. He kicked the piston one last time, and the machine blew up. Eggman tumbled out, charred, and Sonic was panting. He saw something shiny fly towards him, and he caught it. "Huh?" In his hand was a green gem, the biggest one he had ever seen.

"NO!" Eggman shouted. "Give me back that Chaos Emerald!"

"Chaos…Emerald?" Sonic repeated.

"Those gems belong to me, not some primitive woodland creature!" the doctor exclaimed. "Their unbelievable power-"

"Okay, I'm gonna have to stop you right there," Sonic said, not amused. "I don't care why you want this gem, but if YOU want it, it can't be good, so I'm gonna say no." He snarled. "Now leave South Island and never return, or do I have to make you."

Eggman grumbled again, and then gave off a smile. Sonic didn't like it. "Well, if you're just going to let me leave without any further punishment, then I'll leave with my robots." He snapped his fingers, and his Egg Mobile flew next to him. He got in and pushed a button. Suddenly, from behind him, Sonic heard Lisa screaming.

"LISA!" Sonic cried. "Eggman, what did you do?!"

Now Eggman looked scared. "How did you hear that? That's steel!"

"Sis, I'm coming!" Sonic proclaimed. He ran towards the steel wall. The gem in his hand suddenly began to glow, and he suddenly felt his muscles become tougher. He ran even faster and his blood was pumping through his body quickly. _Wh-where's the power coming from? _He saw the wall coming towards him, and he put his arms up. He couldn't believe himself when he smashed right through the wall. But he was even more surprised, and equally as horrified, to see his sister in a capsule. She was being shocked, and Sonic saw metal parts, almost looking like armor, coming towards her. "What is he…is he trying to turn you…NO!" Sonic rammed right through the glass, yanked his sister out of the machine, and watched as the machine powered down. He looked at his little sister, who was now unconscious. He slowly turned his head to look at Eggman with fury in his eyes and a snarl on his lips.

Eggman gulped. He piloted his Egg Mobile out of the base, but not before Sonic got in one final kick that sent the doctor flying. "CURSE YOU, SONIIIIiiiic…" Eggman shouted as his machine spun out of control farther and farther away.

Sonic watched it go, then went back to pick up his sister, He noticed in the room she had been in there was another capsule with some more animals inside. Sonic stepped on the button, freeing everyone inside. The animals cheered and ran off. The hero smiled and noticed a big red button that said "Do Not Push" above it. "Hmm…well, this isn't my place." He pressed it.

"Initiating self destruct sequence," a robotic voice said. "Time until destruction: 5 minutes."

"Heh," Sonic chuckled as he picked up his unconscious sister. "That's too much time for me." He zoomed out of the base and back to the hill where he and Felix had first observed Scrap Brain with two minutes to spare. He watched as the animals fled the building and then, two minutes later…

BOOM!

The base exploded, and Sonic had to cover his eyes and flatten his ears to drown out the sudden light and noise. When he looked back, all he could see was a pile of rubble. All of the animals cheered again. "Three cheers for Sonic!" one of his friends, a pig named Porker, cried. "Hip, hip, hooray!"

"Hip, hip, hooray!" the other animals followed.

"Aw, you guys are too kind," the hero said, blushing slightly. "Now every one of you can live in peace again. I'm happy for all of you. If you'll excuse me, though, I have to take sleeping beauty home. He sped off, with all of the animals cheering in praise and wishes of good luck.

Sonic ran back through Starlight, and now realizing it was night, noticed that Felix was right; it really did look like stars from a distance. He took a shortcut through the woods, avoiding the Labyrinth, Spring Yard, and Marble Zones. He stopped when he saw their house just over the hill. He breathed out, exhausted. "What a long day," he said aloud. Suddenly, Lisa groaned. Sonic looked down at his sister. He watched as her face twitched and her eyes slowly opened. "Good morning," Sonic said, smiling. He didn't want Lisa to know he had been scared out of his mind and absolutely furious when she was unconscious; it probably would have been too much for her.

"S…Sonic?" Lisa asked.

Her brother smiled even bigger. "Yep!"

The green hedgehog looked around slowly. "What…happened?"

"Destroyed this place!" Sonic boasted. "Brought it to the ground! I taught that egg head a lesson and he hightailed it out of here!"

"Mmm…" Lisa mumbled, not looking as excited as Sonic thought she would be. Sonic, though, didn't understand anything about the mind, so he thought as soon as she was free, Lisa would be back to her normal, bouncy self. He didn't expect the tears starting to form in her eyes.

"L-Lisa?" Sonic asked, surprised. He hated tears, usually getting a little bit annoyed if someone started crying. But this time, he was more scared than anything. "H-hey, it's okay! Everything's just fine! I beat Eggman, he's not going to bother us ever again! Lisa, hey!" Sonic didn't realize the rising fear and panic in his voice, and because of that he didn't realize he was scaring Lisa even more. The tears formed faster, and then they began to fall, and then she began to wail. "Lisa, don't cry! Come on, kiddo, there's no need! Lisa, everything's okay!" Sonic hugged his sister, trying to calm her down. But she just continued to wail on.

"Sonic!" Felix called. Sonic looked up to see his friend fly towards the siblings. "Are you okay? I saw you come out of that base and decided to come back to your house. How did-" He noticed the crying girl. "Oh no, what happened to her?"

The blue hero gave a shaky smile. "She's just a bit spooked," he replied. "Nothing a good night sleep won't fix."

"Are…you sure?" Felix asked.

"Of course! Nothing to worry about!" _I hope…_

…

A week passed. Sonic ran down the hill and tucked her into bed. He learned very quickly that he had to stay by her bed at night. When she first screamed out it made Sonic jump and actually think Eggman was back. But it was all just a nightmare, and they continued on. The only way she would stop screaming was if Sonic scratched behind her ear or rubbed right under her collarbone. Eggman hadn't been seen at all, but Lisa now refused to go anywhere she couldn't see the house, though even leaving the house was only if she was feeling adventurous. She even took off her old clothes and changed into some clothes they had found in the plane: a green hoodie vest, brown shorts, and brown boots. It was as if she didn't want to even think about her adventuring days any more. Suddenly Lisa was no longer a smaller green Sonic. She was a small, timid girl, constantly shaking and eyes full of fear. Lisa only felt safe around Sonic and Felix, and even then she was more reserved. She didn't even eat like she use to, taking small bites rather than eating with gusto. Sonic felt like he was walking in a glass house with her. One wrong move, and he felt like she would break.

On the eighth day, Sonic was fed up. He asked Felix to watch over his sister, who had finally gone to sleep. "But…what if she starts screaming again?" Felix whispered.

"Scratch behind her ear," Sonic replied.

"Um…"

"Use your beak, I don't care," Sonic interrupted, slightly annoyed. "I need fresh air."

"Sonic…" Felix began as Sonic walked to Lisa's door. "Are you…okay?"

"Oh yeah, just peachy," Sonic stated sarcastically. "My sister just had a 180 in personality, and I have had barely any sleep and have been cooped up in the house most of the time. Just. Peachy." And he sped out of the house and ran to Green Hill. He snuck to his knees, put his hands on the floor, and stared at the grass.

Sonic hated tears. He never cried. What was the point? It only clouded your vision and slowed you down. Tears meant you were thinking about the past, about what had already happened to you. But this time, Sonic couldn't hold them. How could he? Lisa had changed completely, and he didn't know how to change her back. And now he was beginning to wonder if she would ever return completely. Sonic began to feel his eyes heat up. His vision began to blur. He blinked, and he felt water run down his face. He gave off a sad smile. "Well," he said aloud with a shaky voice, "it was bound to happen at some point."

For the first time in many years, Sonic cried. Sure it was silent, but to the easy-going, laid-back, carefree, self-confident hero, any type of crying was still very new. And very uncomfortable.


End file.
